THE CAPITAL MARKET CONVERSATION

Key highlights announced by the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia;

• RM10 million seed funding to encourage demand of Malaysian-generated carbon credits
• Enhanced LEAP Transfer Framework and Approved Adviser Framework for ACE Market
• Development of a Centralised Sustainability Reporting Platform
• Enhancement of the Islamic finance ecosystem through Waqf optimisation

Kuala Lumpur, 8 March 2023 – Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia” or the “Exchange”) and Maybank Berhad (“Maybank”) today co-hosted the 21^st instalment of Invest Malaysia (“IMKL 2023”) in Kuala Lumpur. Themed “Reshaping Malaysia’s Narrative: Strengthening Resilience & Sustaining Growth”, IMKL 2023 was officiated by the Honourable Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia.  

To ensure that the Bursa Carbon Exchange (“BCX”) achieves its goal of greening our economy and to catalyse the voluntary carbon market, the Honourable Prime Minister announced the Government’s commitment to a RM10 million seed funding incentive to assure demand for Malaysian-generated carbon credits traded on the BCX. This commitment will encourage issuers and project developers to invest in the necessary efforts and processes to enable carbon credit issuance.

Another announcement made by the Honourable Prime Minister at IMKL 2023 was the LEAP Market Transfer Framework, whereby Bursa Malaysia will be enhancing current regulations to facilitate LEAP Market PLCs to transfer to the ACE Market. Concurrently, Bursa Malaysia will share further enhancements to the Approved Adviser Framework to expand the pool of sponsors and corporate advisers for the ACE Market.

The Honourable Prime Minister also announced that Bursa Malaysia will be working with the London Stock Exchange Group to launch a Centralised Sustainability Reporting Platform. This would enable companies − both publicly listed companies as well as non-listed SMEs − to calculate their carbon emission impact, and disclose common ESG datasets in a standardised manner that conforms to established global standards, such as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”). Led by Bursa Malaysia, this pioneering initiative will include a consortium of two Malaysian conglomerates, their supply chain and a panel of banks.

“Bursa Malaysia always listens and adapts to the demands of the investing community. Following public feedback from the consultation paper issued earlier, we will be announcing the LEAP Market Transfer Framework in the next few weeks, as well as the development of the Centralised Sustainable Reporting Platform,” said Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia. “We believe that these initiatives would increase the vibrancy and accessibility of our market, while better meeting the needs of market participants.”

“We are also pleased with the Prime Minister’s announcement that the Securities Commission Malaysia will extend the Waqf-Featured Fund Framework to include Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and Islamic Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). By offering this Waqf asset class and solution on the Exchange, it will further diversify our suite of Shariah-compliant listed products and most importantly, will provide an effective instrument to support our nation’s social development,” added Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift.

Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, Group President & Chief Executive Officer at Maybank, said, “A vibrant and robust capital market is a key component of Malaysia’s competitiveness that will help drive economic recovery. We welcome the measures announced by the Honourable Prime Minister at IMKL 2023 today and will continue to play our part in facilitating greater market participation and promoting Malaysia as an attractive investment destination.

“Maybank believes that sustainability is key to building resilience and ensuring long-term growth. We are working closely with both the government and the corporate sector to execute the national sustainability agenda, and we are pleased to be part of Bursa Malaysia’s sustainable supply chain initiative to support our companies in their decarbonisation journey.”

Speakers at IMKL 2023 included the Honourable Mohd Rafizi Ramli, Minister of Economy who touched on measures to strengthen Malaysia’s economic resilience; the Honourable Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of International Trade & Industry who shared his views on enhancing Malaysia’s competitive edge; the Honourable Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil, Minister of Communications & Digital spoke about developing a digital ecosystem; and the Honourable Anthony Loke, Minister of Transport who shared plans about national infrastructure development. Delegates also heard from newly appointed Treasury Secretary General, Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican on Budget 2023, especially pertaining to strengthening fiscal reform.

“IMKL 2023 continues to be the capital market conversation for global fund managers and institutional investors to appreciate Malaysia’s competitive advantage as an attractive and sustainable investment destination,” concluded Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift. “We look forward to bringing the next instalment of IMKL, targeted to be held by the end of the first half 2023.

The IMKL forum attracted approximately 1,500 delegates attending in-person and virtually, comprising local and foreign fund managers that collectively manage an estimated total AUM of USD10 trillion (approximately RM44 trillion).

The event was also live-streamed for public viewing on Bursa Malaysia’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BursaMalaysia.

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About Bursa Malaysia

Bursa Malaysia is an exchange holding company incorporated in 1976 and listed in 2005, and has grown to be one of the largest bourses in ASEAN today. Bursa Malaysia operates and regulates a fully-integrated exchange offering a comprehensive range of exchange-related facilities, and is committed to Creating Opportunities, Growing Value. Learn more at www.bursamalaysia.com.

About Maybank

Maybank is among Asia's leading banking groups and South East Asia’s fourth largest bank by asset. The Maybank Group has an international network of over 2,600 offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos, India, China, UK, USA, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Dubai. The Group offers an extensive range of products and services, which includes consumer and corporate banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, stock broking, insurance and takaful and asset management. It has over 42,000 employees worldwide. (www.maybank.com).